Customer service is becoming a main company differentiator as the number of competitors increases across most industries. Products are starting to look similar; services are hard to tell apart, but customer service can be unique. And where one lacks in customer service, another may thrive at it. Customer service is so important that poor customer service results in U.S. companies losing $62 billion every year. So, how to you make sure you aren’t losing money from poor customer service? Other than having a helpdesk system, here are 7 must-haves for exceptional customer service that will help customer retention and brand loyalty.

1.Telephone service

For companies like Google and Amazon, they provide 24/7 phone and online support for some of their products. This is essential as they serve international customers. If their customers are working on a Google Ad or setting up a Kindle book on Amazon, the corporate giants are ready to help. Note that they’re customer service is dependent on when their customers need them. As a result, no matter how big or small your company is, your customer support should be available when your customers need you. Usually, that is between the hours of 9 am and 5 pm. Therefore, make sure your telephone customer service is available for at least those hours during weekdays.

2. Online support

We briefly mentioned online support in our earlier example. Online support can mean a variety of things. For starters, your employees waiting to chat with someone who visits the website. Online clothing websites are good examples of companies that usually have online support with people waiting to help you. Other companies use chatbots to interact with their online visitors. This only works if you have an in-depth knowledge base for the bot to search and help the customer. That brings us to the next way to provide exceptional customer service.

3. Knowledge Base

A knowledge base is storage of articles that explain solutions to problems the customers might be having. For example, our knowledge base explains how to use our product. Some customers prefer a visual aid they can figure out on their own. Plus, chatbots work best when they can search the knowledge base for answers without human aid. Finally, the knowledge base is usually connected to email support where customers can type in their inquiry for a company to respond at their next available time.

4. Email Support and Ticket History

Many organizations do not have 24/7 support. Therefore, email support is crucial to help customers who may need help beyond their 9 to 5 shift. What’s great about email support is that you leave a trace of their inquiries. It’s possible to go back and see how your company helped customers and the types of questions being asked. You can use them for training purposes and to populate the knowledge base, respectively.

5. Ticket Routing

Once a ticket is received, use your helpdesk system to automatically allocate the ticket based on the type of issue or keywords in an email subject line or email message. This is particularly helpful when you have multiple products or services. If you have a smaller team, it delegates the tickets to those who specialize in certain topics.

6. Tracking Returns

Use your helpdesk system to track the parts of your product that were affected, replaced and the serial numbers sent to the customer. This helps create a seamless customer experience where you aren’t chasing them for information.

7. Customer Security

If you work for an organization that holds sensitive customer information, consider customer security. This applies to those working for banks, airline industries and government entities. In your helpdesk, customer information is inaccessible until the customer answers security questions. As a result, the data is even secured from the customer support team.

Summary

Customer retention and brand loyalty are extremely important for a company’s growth. Improving customer experience starts with being available to your customers. Then, it entails strategic internal automation to help deliver an exceptional experience.

If you are looking for a helpdesk, check out VIZOR ServiceDesk.